"Bye Mrs. Noceda!"
"See ya, Luz!"
"Don't forget us in the big city." The various voices behind the blue van as it pulled out of it's spot, the driver, Camilla Noceda and her daughter riding in the passenger's seat waving to everyone wishing them a safe trip. Soon the vehicle filled with boxes drove off with everyone behind still waving and shouting farewells.
"Well Luz, here we are, the first step to a new life." Camilla, a woman in her late thirties with tanned skin and glasses said to her daughter as they drove along. Luz, who was the spitting image of her mother, just younger and minus the glasses, meanwhile was focused on the rear view mirror, watching as everything behind them was turning into specs in the distance. "I know it can be scary to leave everything behind."
"It's not like I had any friends anyway." Luz said as she rested her elbow on the door and placed her cheek against her fist. "It's just...dad is there." Her words caught her mother off guard as she had a small pained expression. As much as she hated to admit it, it was the truth. The final resting place of her husband, Manny, resided in their old home town of Gravesfield, Massachusetts, but her new job opportunity would help to provide for both she and her daughter, even if it was clear across the country.
"I know. But he'll always be with us no matter what." Camilla said reassuringly as she pointed a finger to a small circular locket was rested on a chain around Luz's neck. Her daughter smiled lightly as she looked down to it, taking it between her fingers and squeezing it in two random spots, the only way to actually unlock it. It popped open to reveal a picture of her as a very young child in her father's arms, Camilla right alongside them. The two smiled at each other as they continued on the long drive to get to their destination.
The road trip was fairly uneventful, sans the occasional roadside attraction which the two took every opportunity to stop at and get pictures and souvenirs. Luckily for them, Camilla had mapped out their path, ensuring there would be no one-star motels in their futures. After several days they had finally arrived to there destination. "Here we are. Reseda, Los Angeles. I'm telling you, Luz I have a good feeling about this place." Camilla said cheerfully as the van pulled up in front of a rather dreary looking three story apartment complex that was only brightened by the few palm trees out front..
Luz looked out the window at the place with a mix of apathy and disappointment. "It's definitely not what I pictured when I thought of California."
"Come on now, Luz. What happened to not judging a book by it's cover?" Her mother asked. "I hear they even have a pool. How about you go check things out and I'll find a place to park so we can unload everything?"
"Alright, mama." Luz said as she got out of the car, making sure to grab a few boxes to help out. She had to concede defeat for the time being. Judging things before you even got to know them was heavily against Luz's code. Besides being presumptuous it was also just plan rude. You never know when something was going to surprise you...
And then there were the times that you were right on the money about being judgmental. Luz thought this as she overlooked the small pool in the middle of the complex. For starters it was bone dry and the tiles were stained a sickly green color. "Well..." Was all Luz could say as she turned and began to head to the stairs that led up to the second floor apartment that she and her mother would be calling home for the foreseeable future.
"Hey." Luz heard a voice call as she turned to see an odd looking girl seated on top of a planter near the steps opposite her. The girl had a lightly tanned complexion with a slightly larger build than Luz and wore a sleeveless orange shirt and black pants with similarly colored boots. Her most distinguishing features however were her messy blonde hair with dyed blue tips and her eyes which had a brilliant gold pupils surrounded by black irises. She hoped down and made her way over to Luz. "You must be new here, because I know everybody that comes through here."
"Yeah, I'm new. My mom and I just got here from Massachusetts." Luz explained.
The other girl whistled in amazement. "That's a heck of a ways to be coming from. Here let me help you." She offered as she took a few of the boxes in Luz's arms.
"Thanks. I'm Luz by the way."
"Vee." The other girl introduced herself. "So what brings you all the way to sunny Reseda? I hope it wasn't our world class swimming accommodations." Vee joked as they walked, eliciting a small laugh from Luz.
"No. My mom got a job offer at a hospital near here and they offered a ton of money for people with her level of experience and willing to relocate. After my dad... Well my mom decided that a change of scenery would do us some good and the money didn't hurt." Luz moved toward the steps as she heard a sound. She looked down to see a shaggy large breed dog sitting next to the stairwell. The dog was an Belgian Shepard with graying black fur, it's long muzzle open wide as it panted in the heat.
"Don't worry, that's just old King." Vee explained. "He's a stray that roamed in here a couple of years back and everyone took to feeding him and now it's home. Don't let his size fool you. He's mostly just bark these days."
"Well I love animals. Hopefully we'll be good friends." Luz said before the two made their way up the stairs.
"So, you got any hobbies?" Vee asked as they approached the second floor.
"Well, I'm a pretty decent artist." Luz admitted. "I took some classes back in my home town and I'm getting pretty good."
"Any sports?"
"Well I love soccer..." Luz admitted. "Other than that, I took some karate." The latter seemed to catch Vee's attention.
"Ooh, karate. I bet you can throw down." The two reached the apartment that was on the key ring Luz held as she set the boxes down and unlocked the door.
"Well my mom enrolled me for self defense as a kid but I guess you could say I'm pretty good." Luz opened the door and started to bring the boxes inside as Vee helped her. The girl looked around the apartment where the living room was right off of the open kitchen and a hall led to the two bedrooms and bathroom. "It's not the Ritz but I guess it's home. Thanks for the help."
"No problem." Two shook hands.
"So what apartment do you stay in?" Luz inquired.
The question evoked a small laugh from the blonde haired girl. "Oh I don't stay here. A classy sophisticated lady like myself requires a more uptown establishment to rest my head." She joked with a posh accent as the two girls chuckled.
"You want to meet my mom? She should be on her way up." The Noceda girl asked.
"No. I should get going. But maybe some other time." Vee went to leave but stopped at the door, rubbing her chin for a moment as if in deep thought. "Say, a couple of us are having a little beach party tonight. Would you like to come? It'd be a great way to make a good first impression."
Luz's eyes lit up for a moment as a smile stretched across her face. She'd never in her young life been invited to a party where the parents didn't have to force their child to include her. "Yeah, for sure."
"Great!" Vee said excitedly as she got Luz to get some paper and a pen and wrote down the directions and time. "Here you go."
"Thanks, Vee." said Luz with an excited tone.
"Don't mention it. And trust me, they are going to love you. Catch you later." Vee soon vanished through the doorway and down the stairs. Luz looked down at the paper and clutched it close to her chest. A short while later, Camilla opened the door and greeted her daughter as she carried another box in her arms.
Luz immediately raced over and grabbed the box. "I got it, mama."
"Thank you, mija." Camilla said as she looked around the apartment. "Did you see that old dog down there?"
"King? Oh yeah. That reminds me. I should get him some water. He looked pretty thirsty." Luz said as she grabbed an old bowl that was sitting on the kitchen counter, a relic from the previous tenants, no doubt.
Camilla smiled at this. Luz's love for animals rivaled even hers and she worked as a veterinarian for years before switching over to the nursing field for the increased pay and benefits. The girl went over to the kitchen sink and turned the nozzle for the cold water only for it to spray everywhere. Luz screamed as she fought to turn it off, her mother running over to give her a hand as the two successfully got it under control.
"Well that's no good." Camilla noted.
"The only good news is the water bowl is full." Luz said as despite being soaked along with part of the kitchen, the bowl she was going to bring to the dog was filled with water.
"You go ahead, mija. I'll clean up here and you can check on King. While you're at it see if you can get the handyman to come and fix the sink." Her mother pulled out a directory for the building. "It says here they are across the way on the outside of the apartments.
"Sure thing." Luz said before heading out. After placing the bowl down in front of King, who quickly set upon it and drank as fast as he could, Luz followed the directions and headed to the outside of the apartments. The particular side faced a chain link fence where several dumpsters sat where the residence disposed of their trash. The girl approached an open door where a sign above read "Superintendent" and walked inside.
Luz's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting that was in stark contrast to the bright sunny day outside as she entered. Across the room she spotted an older woman with pale skin and long gray hair. The woman seemed to pay no heed to the new arrival as she was preoccupied with something as she held a pair of chopsticks in her hands and was seemingly snapping at something in the air. Upon further inspection, Luz saw that it was in fact a fly. She had zero desire to judge what someone did in their spare time. Right now she and her mother needed their sink fixed.
"Are you the handyman, or lady?" Luz inquired.
"Yep." The woman said in a rather raspy voice as she continued her task, never taking her eyes off of her target.
"Well, my mom and I are the new tenants in apartment 2E." Luz explained.
"Congratulations." The gray haired woman said with a sarcastic tone.
Luz gave the woman a raised eyebrow before she continued. "Right. Anyway, Our kitchen sink is leaking and we were hoping you could fix it."
The woman snapped at the fly several times before answering. "That is what they pay me for."
"Great. So when are you coming?" Luz asked.
"To what?" The woman asked back as she was preoccupied with her task of...whatever it was she was doing. This was quickly getting on Luz's nerves.
"To. Fix. The. Sink." The girl made sure to say it slowly and clearly so that no mistake could possibly be made.
She waited for a response as the constant snapping of the chopsticks was growing more annoying by the second. "Sometime."
Luz's left eye began to twitch as she gritted her teeth. "Sometime today?" After waiting even longer for a reply, the girl just decided to leave, letting the woman go about her previous business.
Eventually Luz made it back up the steps to the apartment and walked inside. "Did you find him?" Camilla asked as she had finished cleaning up the water.
"Her, actually. And about coming up here, well she didn't really make that clear." Luz responded as she sat down on the carpeted floor. "We might need to order out tonight. Oh that reminds me, is it okay if I go to the beach later? Some kids are throwing a party and they invited me to come."
Camilla's eyes lit up as she dropped what she was doing and walked over to Luz. "You got invited to a party? That is so wonderful!" She wrapped her in a tight hug. "Of course you can go. Just don't stay out too late, okay? You have your first day of school soon."
"Thanks, mom. I promise." Luz said as she hugged her mother back. She was uncertain at how to feel about this move at first. Now the teen was feeling a lot more confident about it. True the apartment and area they lived in wasn't the best and it was staffed by a weird old lady but it wasn't all bad. Luz had her mother, basically a cool new community pet in King and now it looked like she was on the path to making new friends. Things were beginning to look up for the girl from Gravesfield.